Someone asked Jesus, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”.
Jesus said to him, ” ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).
So how should we obey these great commandments of God, which are to love God and love others?
How to Love God: Spend time with Him
As Christians, we need to spend time daily with the Lord. As we do so, God will refresh us, give us wisdom, and help us know Him more. It is important to not just come to God for what we need, but also to spend time with Him everyday.
How can we say we love God if we don’t want to spend time with Him?
So we need to pray and read the Bible daily. Learn to pray the way Jesus taught. According to Matthew 6:9-13, during prayer everyday, remember to:
- Praise, thank, and worship God
- Pray for God’s will to be done in your life and in other people’s lives
- Ask for God’s help with your daily needs
- Confess your sins and ask for His forgiveness. Forgive others also.
- Ask God to help you stay away from sin
Besides prayer, we should also read God’s word everyday. Read the Bible everyday and practice it, because Jesus said: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
Even though the Bible does not command us to read God’s word everyday, Jesus did compare God’s word to bread. Since we eat everyday, we should also try to read God’s word everyday. His word comforts and encourages, refreshes and instructs us, so that we are fed good things in our spirits when we read and apply His word to our lives.
“Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” (James 1:21-22)
How to Love God: Practice trusting Him
Practice trusting God in all things big or small.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Trusting God is a commandment of God. Did you know: “whatever is not from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23)?
So we need to practice trusting God in everything. We can choose to trust Him instead of choosing to doubt. We should choose to trust Him, because God is our Father. Learn to be His child by trusting Him.
Practice trusting Him with school, work, relationships, your daily needs, and the needs of those around you. Practice trusting Him with every small thing and with every big thing. From the practice, you will gain increased faith in Him as He shows Himself faithful to you.
Trust Him without giving up. Obey Him in everything.
How to Love God: Stay away from sins
“Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.” (2 Timothy 2:19)
Do not keep on sinning on purpose. “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.” (Hebrews 10:26-27)
We should not deliberately sin after knowing Jesus. If we continue to do so, then we are mocking Christ’s blood and using it as a license to sin.
Instead, we need to rely on God’s help through the Holy Spirit, and keep away from known sins. It is true sometimes we fail, because we can be weak.
“If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9)
If you have any sins, ask God’s forgiveness, and He will forgive you. As much as it depends on you, work with God to overcome sins.
How to Love God: Follow His leading
God often gives us personal directions for our lives.
“He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)
When God directs us, we should follow Him. Jesus often said to His disciples, “Follow Me!” (Matthew 4:19).
What does it mean to follow God? It means we should live our lives NOT on the basis of “What can God do for me?”. We are often guilty of praying this way: we want something and ask God to help us get it. Instead, we should align our lives to what God wants to do (and not insist on our own way), because we have been purchased with a high price and our lives are not our own.
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.'” (James 4:13-15)
So how should we humbly walk with our God? We should seek God’s will for our lives, listen to Him, and follow His leading. Place God first.
How to Love people: Help them in their times of need
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'” (Matthew 25:34-40)
It is important to be generous and sharing, and to help the poor and needy. When someone needs something, we should not withhold it from them if we have the ability to help them.
“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
When it is in your power to do it.
Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come back,
And tomorrow I will give it,’
When you have it with you.” (Proverbs 3:27-28)
“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:27)
How to Love people: Forgive them when they wrong you
Forgiving other people is very important to God. In fact, Jesus told a parable (Matthew 18:23-25) to show that if we don’t forgive others their sins against us, our heavenly Father won’t forgive us our sins either.
“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15)
We would be in deep trouble if God doesn’t forgive us our sins. So let’s forgive others.
“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2)
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)
Let’s be merciful to others and not count their wrongs against us.
“Love … does not take into account a wrong suffered… [Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4,5,7)
How to Love people: Do not be jealous or covet
The Bible warns us against being jealous of other people and coveting what they have.
“For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.” (James 3:16)
Why are we jealous of others? Do we blame God for their well-being? Or do we want to bring them down in order to elevate ourselves?
Jealousy and coveting are not good. If we keep going that way, we would end up blaming God, becoming bitter, and hating others.
“If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” (1 Timothy 6:8)
We must remember that God gives to each person according to His will. If we do well with the talents He gives us, He will give us more. But if we are unfaithful with what He gives us, even what we have will be taken away.
“For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away” (Matthew 25:29). See Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30.
“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” (Luke 16:10)
So how can we be faithful with what God gives us? We need to pray for God to help us keep a good attitude and use what He gives us for His glory.
Furthermore, everyone should compare himself to how he was before, instead of comparing himself to another person so as not to become jealous of that person. We should seek to reach the goals God sets for us individually, and try not to ask (like Peter did): “Lord, and what about this man?” (John 21:21).
Jesus answered, “…what is that to you? You follow Me!” (John 21:22).
How to Love people: Treat them the way you want to be treated
“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.” (Luke 6:31)
A good rule of thumb is to do to others what we want them to do to us. This way, we can be sure we don’t treat other people badly or selfishly go about our daily lives.
“Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” (Romans 13:13-14)
Conclusion
Let us practice these things in our daily lives. Ask God to help us do them and rely on Him. At the same time, love the Lord and be diligent in practicing these things.
As you practice, you will experience God more and more. He will listen to your prayers and be close to you.
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8)
Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
Read Matthew 22 in the Bible.
Learn how to experience God.